Costiera is a mediterranean restaurant in Little Italy, Baltimore.
Costiera in Little Italy marks chef Brian Lavin's return, a coastal Mediterranean bistro plating swordfish meatballs over house-milled polenta.
Signature dishes: Swordfish meatballs, House-milled polenta, Coastal Italian plates
Must order: The swordfish meatballs over house-milled polenta.
Tip: It sits where Little Italy meets Harbor East; the patio is the seat to ask for in warm weather.
Address: 415 South Central Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202
Peter's Inn in Fells Point is a former biker bar turned chef's favourite, with a weekly-changing menu around a famous garlic bread and a New York strip.
Signature: Garlic bread, New York strip, Weekly-changing menu
Order: The garlic bread is non-negotiable; the strip steak is the menu anchor.
Tip: It does not take reservations and the room is tiny; arrive early or expect a wait at the bar.
The Wren in Fells Point is the contemporary pub from Le Comptoir du Vin's team, on the New York Times best list for nettle soup and bar-side cassoulet.
Signature: Nettle soup, Cassoulet, Pub plates
Order: The nettle soup and the cassoulet finished at the bar.
Tip: It is from the Comptoir du Vin owners and just as small; reserve, or take a stool at the bar.
Love, Pomelo on Canton's O'Donnell Square is a Roman-leaning Italian room, plating spaghetti with bottarga and anchovy butter in a candlelit storefront.
Signature: Spaghetti with bottarga, Anchovy butter, Roman pasta
Order: The spaghetti with bottarga and anchovy butter.
Tip: The storefront is small and date-night busy; reserve for prime weekend windows.
Thames Street Oyster House in Fells Point runs Baltimore's deepest raw bar, with chef Eric Houseknecht's Eastern Shore crab cake and a lobster roll.
Signature: Eastern Shore crab cake, Raw bar oysters, Lobster roll
Order: The Eastern Shore crab cake, broiled with almost no filler, and a half-dozen from the raw bar.
Tip: Reserve the upstairs dining room for quiet; the downstairs bar takes walk-ins and pours through a deep oyster list.
Clavel in Hampden is Carlos Raba's Sinaloa-rooted mezcaleria, where tacos sit on nixtamalized corn tortillas and the bar runs deep on mezcal.
Signature: Tacos al pastor, Ceviche, Mezcal flights
Order: Tacos on the house-nixtamalized tortillas with a mezcal flight to match.
Tip: No reservations for small parties; the line moves fastest if you arrive right at open or late in the evening.
Gertrude's sits inside the Baltimore Museum of Art, where founder John Shields cooks the Chesapeake canon of crab cake and Maryland crab soup.
Signature: Crab cake, Maryland crab soup, Fried oysters
Order: The crab cake, plus a cup of the Maryland crab soup loaded with vegetables.
Tip: Lunch on the terrace overlooking the BMA sculpture garden is the quietest, prettiest seat in the house.
